Memories of the Ice Cream Truck

I was reading Crazy Aunt Purl's blog entry about her arch nemesis - the ice cream truck. This brought to mind summer memories of going insane as a child when you heard that horrible tinkling music coming down the street. "Please, Mom, can we have some money for the ice cream truck!?" (Sometimes my mom would beat us to the truck!)

We grew up without air conditioning in the hot and humid South and the ice cream truck was like a shining beacon of all things cold. My childhood's summer nights were filled with being restless while trying to find a way to be cool. I remember having a box fan at the foot of my bed and sleeping upside down to be as close to it as I could. I would flip the pillow over and over again until I fell asleep so that I could have a few moments of coolness on my face. I know it's hard to believe in this age of air conditioning, but there were things that I loved about those summer nights. Outside my open window was a beautiful crepe myrtle tree that I could, and would, spend hours looking at, loving how it swayed in the soft breeze. I loved the smell of the night air and the sounds that filled it -- crickets, cicadas and frogs.

But I digress, let's get back to the ice cream truck. My favorite treat was the Cannonball. It was served in a plastic cone and filled with orange sherbet. At the bottom of the plastic cone was a gumball, hence the name Cannonball (which I have come to find out is now called a Screwball). And, if I wanted to break out of my Cannonball rut, I would either get a Neapolitan ice cream sandwich or Firecracker Popsicle. Firecracker Popsicles had stripes of red, white and blue and made a total mess! I also liked Push-ups, another orange sherbet treat. Remember how hard it was to get those things started? We would push the stick on the bottom against the kitchen counter or on the front steps to force the ice cream out. Occasionally I would get a Drumstick. This was a concoction made up of vanilla ice cream in a sugar cone topped with chocolate and nuts. This would melt so fast in the summer heat would end up licking ice cream off of your hand. Such good times!

We don't have an ice cream truck that comes through out neighborhood, but don't feel too sorry for us. We can walk to 3 different place to get ice cream or walk to the jiffy mart to get something yummy out of the freezer case. Of course, after writing this, I've decided that I have to take Monkey Boy out for ice cream today!

What was your favorite frozen treat?